Quote "I was going to have a similar 'hole' cut into a new toneau cover, but my trimmer suggested just adding two zips to my existing travel toneau. Worked out great."

Mine is just a round zippered section too Mick. There is also one for the passenger. It has worked out well.
I was planning to meet up with you at Tuena last weekend, but didn't make it. It was too warm in my bed!

Dingdingdingdingding! We have a winner! Never occurred to me to use zippers. Perfect solution!

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Drone - The beauty is that if the weather turns really bad I can progressively 'zip' him closed so he has to squeeze his head out, but he is well-protected behind the windscreen. It also keeps him centred behind the screen so that he can't lean out and cop a stone or bug in the eye. The small vent on the fwd left of the tub has a plug on the inside, but is good for allowing some air (under ram pressure) to flow through the tub, keeping him cooler in summer. Took a long time to figure all this out, but 14,000 kms on, it seems to keep us both happy!

My wife found this bumper sticker/sign at Target's.... Just taped in into place to see what it would look like on hack. Sends and accurate message though. Now, it I could just collect a fee from my passengers; Murph and Dusty.

On our way to the BMW Rally in Missouri, currently dodging thunderstorms in Ohio. As we pass thru Louisville KY on our way to Murray tomorrow, Barley will have completed 20,000 miles in the hack. I'm very proud of my little bug!

On our way to the BMW Rally in Missouri, currently dodging thunderstorms in Ohio. As we pass thru Louisville KY on our way to Murray tomorrow, Barley will have completed 20,000 miles in the hack. I'm very proud of my little bug!

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Good to see Barley again. Last year I adopted a Golden Retriever named Dickens. I have a buddy with a sidehack and we're going to meet up soon to see if Dickens is passenger material. If he is, I might have to add a three-wheeler to the stable.

Any advice on riding with dogs in hot weather? We're going on tour in the prairies and I'm worried about the heat and the lack of shade. I've rigged up a canopy for the hack, and will be packing an umbrella. Needless to say, lots of water. Any other tips?

Shade is a must. You'll see a few options in photos in Hacks-n-Pups including my tonneau cover with a zippered hatch for Barley. It works, but does cut down on airflow so in the future I might go the ragtop option.

At the MOA rally in Missouri we rode in temps ranging from 94 to 108. Hydration was key! I had trouble getting Barley to drink piss warm water, so every morning I'd fill a small Igloo cooler with a bag of ice. By the time it got hot there was enough ice water in there for both of us to have some at stops, plus enough for me to soak his belly and my shirt to get some evaporative cooling going.

In case of breakdown at the side of the road I carried a small Noah's tarp with poles so I could at least get him out of the sun. Also, at night it didn't drop below 100 till 9pm, so I carried a battery powered tent fan just in case.

Thanks Pete. I'll pick up a battery powered fan, good idea. I was thinking of loading the nose of the hack with icepacks, and cutting some vent holes so air would flow around the ice. DIY air conditioning. Anyone tried something like that?

I've seen small water bottles that have a pump and hose with a mist nozzle at the end. They are really nice for hot days. You could rig it up to deploy a small amount of mist that might last a while as you ride down the road.

I've seen small water bottles that have a pump and hose with a mist nozzle at the end. They are really nice for hot days. You could rig it up to deploy a small amount of mist that might last a while as you ride down the road.

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I was gonna pack a squirt gun, but this might be a better idea. Although I was under the impression dogs only cool down from panting, not from perspiration or water on the skin/fur.

I've seen small water bottles that have a pump and hose with a mist nozzle at the end. They are really nice for hot days. You could rig it up to deploy a small amount of mist that might last a while as you ride down the road.

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That would work for a human, but in the summer heat the only way I could give Barley any evaporative cooling relieve was to pull over and work cool water into his belly fur and ruff, then have him shake to make his fur stand up. And even then, to get the cooling effect he had to sit up exposing his chest to air flow, which put his head in direct sunlight. Still, that seemed to be the method he preferred.

I bought a couple of Touratech squirt bottles thinking I could hose him down without stopping, but it didn't work well. First it soaked into his dog bed, and memory foam is like a huge sponge. Secondly if he didn't have the ability to shake his wet fur laid flat and acted like an insulating layer.

Another thing I did on really hot days was to stuff my small camelback with ice and put it on top of his bed for him to lay on. It's insulated so well he didn't get cold spots, nor did it sweat and make a soggy mess on his bed.